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Top 5 shows of the weekend

This is probably the best weekends-worth of shows all year, so you should probably stop reading at this point and make your plans, if you haven’t missed the boat already.

5) Milk ‘n’ Cookies, Baby Shakes at Rough Trade
The should-have-been-big narrative in music features a seemingly infinite number of bands, but Milk ‘n’ Cookies definitely hit all the marks. Formed in the early 70s in Long Island, sharing stages with the likes of The Ramones and influencing some of New York’s finest and most famous bands, don’t pass up a rare-ish chance to see one of powerpops most noteworthy footnotes. Sunday 7pm

4) Anya Marina at City Vineyard
There’s never anything wrong with a good pop song, and Anya Marina has them in spades. I saw Robbie Fulks at City Vineyard earlier in the year and it’s a much better experience than seeing a show at City Winery, with more natural vantage points (and a nice view across the Hudson doesn’t hurt). Friday 8pm

3) Ought, Katie Von Schleicher, Mal Devisa at Music Hall of WilliamsburgIn most circumstances, Ought would be #1 on this list by a landslide (everyone is a winner this week!), the Montreal quartet just put out their third record, and their first on Merge, Room Inside the World is a majestic record, featuring plenty of left-turns for the band without reinventing the wheel, pretty much the perfect third album! As a live act they’re even better and there aren’t many bands who have just captured my attention more greatly. Friday 8pm

2) Screaming Females, Thou, +HIRS+ at Market Hotel
I’m pretty sure every time Screaming Females come into town, they make this column, and that’s because they are one of, if not the most consistently great live band of the last ten years. They just released their seventh album, All at Once, which has some of their most melodic and poppy work to date, but the band pull it off magnificently. You also get the benefit of sludge greats Thou, which seems like a bit of an odd pairing and could headline the place themselves! This is another show that has sold out, understandably so. Friday 8pm

1) Superchunk, Swearin’ at Bowery BallroomSuperchunk‘s discography is about as good as it gets in the powerpop/punk/indie* (*in the truest sense) world. I can’t think of a better example of a band having a miraculous second wind, after the nine years separating Here’s to Shutting Up in 2001 and the triumphant Majesty Shredding in 2010, the band followed that up with I Hate Music in 2013 and just released one of their very best records, What a Time to Be Alive, which sees the band get overtly political for the first time. It’s no great surprise that both Saturday and Sunday nights sold out pretty quickly, especially since openers Swearin’ are worthy of a headline slot at the venue in their own right. Saturday & Sunday 8pm

About Chris Quartly

Chris is an unsightly English man who likes to go to shows and eats too much food. Please don't be afraid to say hello but he may be too afraid to say hi back. Can also be found on Twitter or Instagram